Another chapter! Hope you enjoy. As I told you all when I started typing up Chapter One, this story was completed and sitting in a stack of stories at my home. Well, I am redoing the ENTIRE second half of it, so all the chapters after 3 are not from my original draft. I've trashed that story to make a more comprehensive one. The story was going to end with this chapter, but I decided to add in a few more instead and make a nice, long story. So enjoy!

Warning! This chapter is quite long! Be prepared to read for a while!

Secret Santa

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Chapter Four
December 20, Saturday to

December 21, Sunday

"Usagi Tsukino! Where have you been?" Tsukino Ikuko asked her daughter worriedly as Usagi walked in the front door of their home. Usagi sighed.

"The mall…the girls, Motoki-kun, Mamo-chan, and I are doing a Secret Santa thing this year. Well, anyways, I got Mamo-chan, but I can't seem to find anything to buy for him! According to Motoki-kun, he doesn't really like all that much. He just likes his books, roses, and his work. What do I have to work with there?" Usagi slipped out of her furry pink coat and opened the coat closet door and stuck it inside.

"Well, I know you probably didn't mean to be late, because I know how time flies when you're shopping, but try harder next time to be on time for dinner. Now, take off your shoes and come into the kitchen while I make you some hot cocoa and warm up your dinner."

"Yes, Mummy. I'm going to go change clothes, and then I'll be down." Usagi slipped off her shoes and put on slippers, and then skipped up the staircase adjacent to the coat closet, and proceeded down the short hallway into her bedroom. She sighed as she opened the door, seeing the extreme uproar that it was in. Clothes lay everywhere on the soft pink carpet, while magazines and stuffed toys littered her single sized bed that was located beside the window. She plopped herself down on the bed, shoving several Teen Japan magazines off onto the floor. "What on earth am I going to do? I have to find the perfect gift…I just have to! But…what?"

She sighed and sat up. "I'm starved…better get downstairs." She jumped up and ran to her closet, and reached inside for a pair of pink pajamas with moons all over them. She took off all her winter clothes, tossing them on the floor, and put on her warm pajamas. She took her hair down out of buns and shook it loose. Then she ran back down the hall, passing her father's office. She stuck her head in the door. "Hi, Daddy!"

"Hm? Oh, Usagi. Where were you? Why weren't you at dinner?" Kenji Tsukino looked up from his computer and took his glasses off.

"I was doing some Christmas shopping for a friend and I lost track of the time."

"Okay, dear. Don't let it happen again."

"I won't, Daddy." She smiled and left, walking down the stairs to the kitchen. She sat at the counter on a stool and watched her mother pouring hot cocoa into a mug.

"I'll bet you're starving, aren't you, doll?" Ikuko handed Usagi the chocolate.

"I'm a bit hungry, but not exactly starving. I had a Coke at the arcade earlier, so I've been fine. But I would like something to eat."

"Well, we had spaghetti for dinner. It'll take a minute for me to heat it up. So while we're waiting you can tell me about this gift for your Mamo-chan. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Mamo-chan that nice Mamoru who fixed my car that time? The one you promised me would be your first kiss?"

Usagi giggled. "That's him, Mummy. But…don't remind me of the time he fixed the car. He spilled oil all over my lilac miniskirt that I loved so much..."

-----FLASHBACK-----

Ikuko stared at the deserted road, devastated. "The day that your father decides to take my cell phone and get new ones this happens!"

She turned and stared back at Usagi, who was sitting on the hood of their blue Toyota Camry. "What did I tell you, Mummy? I knew we should have gotten a Honda."

Ikuko sighed and joined her on the hood. "Well, dearest, I should have listened. Now look at us. Our car just has to break down twenty miles from home. It's going to take us forever to get back to Tokyo! Plus, since our luck is just fantastic right now, there is not a soul on this entire road."

"Don't worry, Mum, it's going to be fine. Somebody will come by sooner or later. If not, we'll just have to walk it." Usagi glanced down at her purple halter top and miniskirt. "I just hope it doesn't come to that, because I'm certainly not dressed for a hike." She kicked her foot into the air. "I just had to wear high heels."

"It was such a nice wedding shower, though, wasn't it?" Ikuko looked over at Usagi.

She nodded. "Yeah…I hope, someday, that I'll get as nice a shower as Shinkono did. I'm glad things are turning out right for her. She has always been my favorite cousin."

After sitting there for thirty minutes, they finally heard someone driving by. The sports car spotted them, and pulled over to the side of the road. The driver of the Porsche got out and looked at them. "Are you ladies stranded?"

"Pretty much!" Ikuko grinned sheepishly. This was so embarrassing!

Usagi's eyes shot up and looked at their rescuer. "Mamoru-baka!

Mamoru grinned. "Usagi, what a surprise!"

Ikuko blinked. "You two know each other?" She let her eyes roam over the young man just a few feet away from them. He was incredibly tall, built, and handsome. She looked at Usagi, whose eyes were reflecting something that Ikuko had never seen before in her daughter's eyes. She silently gasped. 'Goodness, Usagi is in love with this man! But he's three or four years older than she is!' She silently reminded herself that her own husband was five years older than she. 'Well, at least she has good taste. He looks like a nice, well-off young man…and he's most definitely handsome.'

"Know each other? Oh, we barely even know each others names..." Usagi swatted her hand. "He's friends with Motoki, so I see him every once in a while at the arcade."

Mamoru scoffed. "Once in a while? How about everyday?" He came over and looked at their car. "Anyways, what seems to be the problem with your car? I don't know that much about them, but I may be able to help."

"Well, the engine just went! All of the sudden it just died." Ikuko fretted, walking next to Mamoru as he popped the hood open. "You think you can fix it?"

He grinned. "Well, ma'am, just give me a moment to look at it, and I just might be."

She nodded and went to sit in the car.

Usagi leaned her arm on the front of the car and looked beside her at Mamoru. "Do you know anything about cars? Well, except how to buy extremely dangerous and expensive ones?" She smirked at his Porsche.

He rolled his eyes. "It's not dangerous if you know how to handle it. I love my car. You better be glad I brought my car, and not my bike. Then, if I couldn't fix the car, I wouldn't have room to help you guys back to town."

"Bike?"

"Motorcycle."

She gawked at him. "You have a Porsche and a motorcycle? I thought you were in college!"

He frowned. "I am….and your point is?"

"Well, usually college kids don't have all that kind of money to spend on cars and stuff…" Her face turned red. She was prying too much, she knew.

"Well, I wouldn't really consider myself an average 'college kid'. I do much more than that." He was beginning to look very uncomfortable, and kept fiddling with different things in the car.

"Like what?"

His face twitched. "Stand back."

"Huh?"

"Stand back!"

It was too late. Something spewed out of the car, and got on Usagi's outfit, and Mamoru's jeans and red shirt.

Usagi screamed. "Oil! All over my new miniskirt! You baka! I'm going to kill you!"

Ikuko got out of the car and looked at them. She started to laugh. "Now that's what I call funny!"

Mamoru shook his head. "I told you I don't know all that much about cars. Alright, ladies, we'll send back a tow truck, but hop in my car. I'll take you home. You live in the Juuban district, right?"

Ikuko nodded. "Yes, we do. Thank you so very much. What was your name again?"

"Chiba Mamoru. You can just call me Mamoru, Tsukino-san."

"Alright, Mamoru-san. My name is Ikuko, and you know my daughter Usagi. I'm very grateful for your help." She smiled. She glanced at Usagi, who was fuming beside Mamoru. "Oh, quit it, Usagi. I'll buy you another skirt!"

Usagi pouted. "Still, I loved THIS skirt!"

She sulked and pouted all the way back to Tokyo, while Mamoru and her mother chatted aimlessly.

---END FLASHBACK---

Ikuko laughed. "Well, I thought he was very kind to help us out. If you remember, the next day we went and bought you five or six new skirts and several tops as well."

Usagi slightly grinned. "Yeah, that was great."

"So now you are trying to find a Christmas present for Mamoru-san, and you don't know what…hmm…well, perhaps I can help you. Besides, I always thought you two would make a cute couple, and the more I can help you become one, the better."

Usagi blushed. "Mummy!"

Ikuko giggled girlishly. "Oh, dearest, let me have my fun! You two are adorable when you're together, always cutting up and bickering playfully. It's so adorable the way you look at him!"

Usagi narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you get this dreamy look in your eyes." Ikuko handed her daughter a steamy plate of spaghetti.

Usagi started eating, her face still a bright tint of red. "Well…anyways, I'm getting up early tomorrow to do some more shopping. I just went to the mall. There are still tons of stores on the Tokyo strips. I'll look around for stuff there."

"If you'd like, I'll go with you and give you a hand in finding a gift. Plus, I can buy your father's Christmas gift while I'm out."

Usagi looked up. "Thanks, Mummy. That would be great."

"Alright, then we'll be up and out by 9:00 a.m. I'll wake you up around 8:00."

DECEMBER 21, SUNDAY

"So, Motoki told you that he liked roses, his work, and books? Well…then we'll work with the fact that he likes roses." Ikuko walked happily beside Usagi down the streets of Tokyo, bundled up in a white coat, gloves, and a cap. Usagi trudged along quietly in her pink furry coat, pink gloves, and her hair in its usual buns with pink ribbon ties. She was still shivering underneath.

Ikuko saw the cold look on her face. "Honey, you look frozen. Look, there's the arcade. The café is open on Sundays, right? Well, let's get some cocoa and coffee from Motoki, shall we?"

Usagi nodded happily. "Th…thanks, Mom." Her teeth chattered.

They walked inside and sat in a booth next to the window that looked out at the street. Usagi took off her coat before she sat down, and Ikuko laughed.

"No wonder you were frozen! Honey, I don't care how cute an outfit may be, you don't wear a miniskirt in December in Tokyo! You'll freeze!"

Usagi pouted. "Mum! This outfit is just so cute, though! Besides, I'm wearing boots and a sweater! Mina-chan told me that sometimes you have to suffer to be beautiful." She leaned in and whispered, "Besides, I was afraid that I might have seen Mamo-chan, and I wanted to look my best around him, since all he ever sees me in is my school uniform. I had this chance to show off, so why not?"

Ikuko laughed. "You're so much like what I was when I was your age. Well, sit down, here comes Motoki."

"Hi there, ladies! Cold out there, isn't it?" Motoki was as cheery as ever. "What can I get for you?"

"A coffee for myself and hot cocoa for Usagi." Ikuko smiled.

"Alright. Usagi-chan, before I forget, I was meaning to ask you when again we're meeting at the temple?"

"Oh, well, we had planned to meet today at 2:00, but I talked to Rei-chan about it last night, and we put it off till tomorrow at 2:00, because she has to clean the temple today for her grandfather. She said he wouldn't let her have anyone over until she had the temple spotless. Tell Mamoru-san as well."

"Okay, great! That's good she pushed it back, because I have to take the second shift today as well. Someone called in sick. I wouldn't have been able to make it. I'll be back with your order in a minute. Oh, there's Mamoru. While I get your order, can you tell him about the setback?"

"Um…sure."

"Ok, great! Be back in a jiff!" Motoki scurried off to get their order, stopping only to scold two boys about vandalizing video games.

"Well, you heard Motoki, go tell him!" Ikuko shooed Usagi with her hand.

"Well, alright, here goes." She smiled nervously at her mother and stood, walking in the direction of the counter.

Ikuko sat and watched, smiling. 'This is so sweet! I love playing Cupid!'

Usagi glided over to where Mamoru was sitting and reading his usual newspaper. She walked tentatively, making sure she didn't trip and make a fool of herself. This was her chance to actual be somewhat sexy around him, and she wasn't going to pass it up!

"Mamoru-san!"

Mamoru looked up from his paper. He looked at her pink sweater, brown suede miniskirt, and high heeled suede boots. He forced his jaw not to drop, but kept looking at her shamelessly. Finally his senses kicked in somewhat, and he looked at her face, which was grinning at him. "Usagi."

"That's me!" She chirped, satisfied with the expression on his face. She took the seat next to him. "Anyways, I have to tell you something. We were all supposed to meet today at 2:00 for the Secret Santa gift exchange, but Rei and I pushed it back till tomorrow at 2:00. Is that good for you?"

He nodded, still breathless about her appearance. It wasn't everyday that she looked that hot, after all. The only other time he had ever seen her in something besides her school uniform was the time he had given she and her mother a lift to Tokyo after their car broke down. "Al…alright, that's fine. I'll be there."

"Great! See you then! I'd better get back now. I left my mother over there." She thumbed to her mother in the booth, who was smiling at Mamoru's expression.

He finally snapped out of his daze and smiled. "Your mother's here? I haven't seen her since the car breakdown."

"Yeah, she and I are doing some Christmas shopping and we came in here for coffee and cocoa. Come on. I'll bet she'll be glad to see you." Usagi hopped up and grabbed his hand, pulling him back to the booth. He stared at their joined hands in ecstasy, wondering what on earth had overcome the girl. Ikuko noticed they were coming over and stood.

When they were standing in front of Ikuko, Usagi let go of Mamoru's hand. "Mom, you know Mamoru."

"Mamoru! It's good to see you again. Sit down and have some coffee with us."

Mamoru smiled at her. "It's good to see you, too, Tsukino-san."

Motoki finally came with the drinks and set them on the table. "Oh, hey, Mamoru-kun. Your usual?"

"Hai, you know me so well."

Ikuko sat back down in the booth. Usagi slid in on the other side to sit next to the window. Mamoru sat down next to Usagi, taking his chances.

"So, Mamoru, we didn't really get to know each other at our last meeting. So, tell me, you live in Juuban?"

"No, ma'am, I live in Azubu. It's where I go to school, so I took an apartment there."

"You attend Azubu College of Technology?"

"That's right."

"Very nice school. My son, Shingo, wants to go there when he gets older."

"Really? What about you, Usagi?" Mamoru turned to look at Usagi, who was sipping her chocolate quietly.

Usagi's eyes bugged out. "Me? Go to college? No way, I'll barely make it out of high school alive!"

He laughed. "Alright, but what do you plan on doing when you get out of high school?"

She remained quiet for a moment, and Ikuko looked at her interestedly, curious about the future for Usagi herself.

"Well…" Usagi bit her lip. "I don't…I don't exactly know yet."

Ikuko sat and thought a moment. 'I have an idea…'

She spoke up. "Well, Usa, have you thought of getting married and settling down?"

Mamoru grinned as he watched the blonde's entire face turn a pretty shade of pink.

"Well…ah…um…" Usagi stuttered, surprised by her mother's outburst.

"Anyways, let's change the subject before Usagi adds another shade of red to the list of colors. What are you planning on doing for Christmas, Mamoru-san?"

"Well, actually, I have no plans."

"Do your parents live here in Tokyo or do they live elsewhere? It can be tough to leave for Christmas and come back."

Usagi sucked her breath inward and remembered what Motoki had told her about Mamoru's family. She wished she could have warned her mother beforehand.

Mamoru's eyes misted over and became distant. "Well…actually, neither. My parents aren't living any longer. They died years ago."

Ikuko's blinked. "Oh, dear. I'm so sorry, Mamoru." She glanced over at Usagi, who gave a strained look. 'She knew.'

Mamoru shook his head. "It's quite alright. You didn't know."

Motoki came up and handed Mamoru his coffee. "Hey, Mamoru, got a date yet?"

Mamoru almost spit out his coffee. "Huh? What?"

Motoki laughed. "For the Christmas ball thing you were complaining about a couple weeks ago."

Mamoru hit himself on the head. "Of course! That's tomorrow night! And I have to go or my company would practically be enraged!"

Ikuko spoke up. "Who do you work for, Mamoru?"

"Actually, ma'am, he doesn't exactly work for anyone." Motoki piped in.

Usagi raised an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

Mamoru ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Well, Usagi, I never exactly told you about Chiba Corporations, did I?"

Usagi smiled sadly. "No, I don't really know that much about you, Mamoru-san."

"Well, Chiba Corporations is a technology empire in Japan, and soon internationally. It's much like Microsoft, but so far we only have business in Japan. It was my father's company, and when he died, when I was eight, it was inherited to me. I didn't gain control of it until I turned eighteen. I'm still in college gaining many degrees to benefit the progress of the company, and I'm currently getting my last degree."

"Chiba Corporations! That's that huge building beside the mall!" Ikuko marveled. "I knew that for the longest time its vice-president was running it, but I didn't know it was because they were waiting for you to grow up!"

He smiled. "Yeah, they had it rough for quite a while, because frankly, the vice-president was a moron. But I fired him last year because he was still trying to run the company without my knowing. It wasn't a fun ordeal."

Motoki cut in. "Should I call Unazaki?"

Mamoru laughed. "How come every time I need a date you bring up your sister, Motoki-kun?"

Motoki grinned. "Oh, give her a break, Mamoru-san. She's fourteen and has the hugest crush on you. She was ecstatic when you had to take her to your spring ball thing."

"Yes, I know. But, I have other plans." Mamoru glanced over at Ikuko. "Tsukino-san, would you mind if I asked your daughter if she would mind being my date for our annual Christmas Ball?"

Ikuko was inwardly screaming for joy, but she just smiled and said, "That would be just fine with me."

Usagi was at the moment sipping hot chocolate, and she almost spit it out. "WHAT?"

"Usagi, will you allow me to escort you to the ball?" Mamoru took her hand. Motoki and Ikuko leaned in and watched Usagi's reaction.

Usagi stared at Mamoru with wide eyes. 'What has gotten into him?' She wondered. 'Who cares? Me, going to a ball, with Mamo-chan!'

"Yes, I'll go with you."

Motoki and Ikuko almost started screaming for joy, but both refrained.

Mamoru sat smiling. He had told Rei that he was going to try for a date with Usagi, and he had just gotten it. What a crazy world it was!

Alright, there you all go! I hope you all liked it! It's going to be pretty crazy when Monday comes! Secret Santa and a Christmas Ball! What will happen next? Dum, dum, dum! Heh. R&R!

Love you all and God Bless!

LunaGirl